Roselyne Akombe has been praised by some and insulted by others following her resignation
early Wednesday morning.
The commissioner quit saying the October 26 repeat poll cannot be credible as it's being organised by a very "divided commision".
"The commission in its current state can surely not guarantee a credible election on 26 October 2017," she said in a statement.
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Former presidential candidate Nazlin Umar is one of those who have rebuked
Akombe.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday,
Umar accused the former commissioner of being an Opposition mole at IEBC, a "crook" and
"the enemy of our peace".
The politician further said Akombe is a "double-speaking hypocrite who is part of the process and cannot alienate herself from the mess she created intentionally".
"She remains bound as part of the first and second sabotage and must be arrested and held to account for internal sabotage. An international warrant should be issued to Interpol for the arrest and deportation of the crook...the peoples enemy."
Umar further said Akombe's resignation is a move to "rob Kenya of
the sovereign will of the people and this is why she sent her resignation
statement from New York".
"She was supposed to be part of a team that is in Dubai to monitor the printing of ballot papers but fled to the US after ensuring she had messed up again."
The politician also accused Akombe of sabotaging the work of the electoral body by allegedly working with the National Super Alliance.
"Akombe's resignation is what we have been expecting. It is an afterthought...a plan with the Opposition to sabotage the elections and tilt it in Raila Odinga's favour to agitate for chaos or a power-sharing formula and self-rule.
"Remember she is the one who gave [IEBC chairman Wafula] Chebukati the wrong form 34A at Bomas."
Raila and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka withdrew from the election saying the electoral agency must meet all their demands.
Among the demands are for CEO Ezra Chiloba to resign and Al Ghurair and OT-Morpho not to be contracted for ballot papers and KIEMS kits.
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Umar called on the government to bar all IEBC Commissioners and staff from leaving the country and urged IEBC to cancel the repeat presidential election.
"I don't see the need for holding an election now. She has exposed the cartel. Uhuru remains President to 2022," she wrote.
"No senior IEBC officer should be allowed to leave...[neither should] NASA principals, Supreme Court judges, the Cabinet
and the senior-most officers of the defence forces as the nation's interests must prevail and all crooks be brought to book."
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AKOMBE ON RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY
But
Kwale woman representative Zuleikha Juma is of the opinion that Akombe chose to be on the right side of Kenya's history by resigning and "saying the truth".
"What she has achieved is by no means an easy feat, especially in the current political atmosphere of brutality from state organs," said the ODM Member of Parliament.
The legislator noted that Akombe has entered the history books of some of "our recent brave patriots like Chief Justice Maraga".
Maraga and three other Supreme Court judges nullified Uhuru's victory in the August 8 general election saying the constitution and laws were not followed.
In the September 1 ruling, the court cited
irregularities and ordered a new poll within 60 days, an unprecedented move in Africa where governments often hold sway over judges.
Zuleikha added that the court and Akombe move have contributed immensely to the refusal of peace-loving Kenyans to go down the path of dictatorship
Akombe said IEBC commissioners
vote along partisan lines on key issues concerning the election.
"It has become increasingly difficult to appear on television to defend positions I disagree with in the name of collective responsibility. I have concluded that I am no longer making any significant contribution to the commission and to my country as a commissioner," she said in her statement.
She said the agency need to be courageous and speak out and that the planned election cannot meet the basic expectations of credibility when senior secretariat staff and commissioners are serving partisan political interests.
Her resignation comes just eight days to election day.
On October 10, NASA leader Raila Odinga withdrew from the presidential rerun but President Uhuru Kenyatta insisted the election must go on.
They have refused to talk to end the stalemate, Raila saying they can dialogue but not on a coalition government.
He
has led countrywide demonstrations demanding the
removal
of secretariat staff who allegedly bungled the August vote, as well as the removal of IT provider OT Morpho and ballot papers printer Al Ghurair.
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